Earlier this year, Bruce Wallace published an anthology of personal stories surrounding the struggle with self-injury, and you may remember we asked for your stories for it.

Bruce is now writing another book, about recovery, and you can help.

Bruce says:

“Recovery is seen as a central and integral part of modern mental health practice; based around the recovery model and the idea of the individual having control (rather than the ‘professional’) together with a partnership rather than practitioner / patient role.

“A different interpretation of recovery is based around the medical concept of becoming ill and needing treatment. After treatment the individual ‘recovers’.

“Neither of the above appear to sit comfortable within the realm of self-harm so individual’s experiences and/or views on what recovery means or might mean becomes important. To date some individuals have indicated ideas such as recovery appears to be too finite a term when applied to self-harm unless the individual is confident that this is a past experience. Preference goes to terms such as ‘in recovery’; ‘recovering’.”

The book will explore ideas of ongoing recovery from self-injury, with people’s stories and views throughout to express the journey. This is your chance to have your views and your story of ongoing recovery published.

We’re asking you, our dear members, to contribute to the book by sharing your own thoughts, ideas, and personal experiences around the subject of self-injury ‘recovery’.

We’d like you to write about your experiences of self-injury, only for a perspective of recovery. You might wish to include what the words ‘in recovery’, ‘recovering’ and ‘recovered’ mean to you when it comes to self-injury, and whether your own experience of their meanings have differed to any professionals who have or are helping you. How has this difference affected you? How has it made you feel? Is self-injury something you feel you can completely ‘recover’ from?

Write however you wish, and as much as you wish, but please stick to the recovery theme.

If you’d like to contribute, please send your true-life story to Jules@lifesigns.org.uk – please give either your first name or nickname or a made-up nickname so you can be anonymous. Please also let us know if you’re happy for your email address to be given to Bruce so that he can contact you directly (this is entirely up to you and won’t affect anything), as it may help him check details with you. Please try to write using lots of paragraphs to break up your story.

If you have any questions, then please do send us an email.

It’s always amazing to read people’s personal struggles and recovery journey; knowing how other people have worked through, or are working through, their self-injury urges and the drivers behind their SI is very inspiring. We hope that you’ll take this opportunity to have your voice heard!

Thank you